Computer System and Computer-Implemented Method for Selecting Invoice Settlement Options

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: accessing, by a hardware server, a first invoice stored on an invoice database, wherein said first invoice is associated with a first vendor; loading, by said hardware server, said first invoice from said invoice database into a computer memory coupled with said hardware server memory; parsing, by a control program, a plurality of first invoice line items from said first invoice into first invoice data, wherein said computer program is executed at least partially by said hardware server; analyzing, by said control program, said first invoice data, vendor rule data and payment selection rule data to determine a first settlement rule, wherein said payment selection rule data comprises payment rules to at least one of maximize cash flow for a payer, maximize short-term return on cash for a payer of said first invoice, maximize vendor discounts, or minimize transaction costs associated with paying said first invoice; selecting, by said control program and based upon said first settlement rule, a first settlement option from a plurality of settlement options to settle said first invoice; applying, by said control program, said first settlement option to said first invoice to facilitate settling said first invoice; accessing, by said hardware server, a second invoice stored on said invoice database wherein said second invoice is associated with a second vendor; loading, by said hardware server, said second invoice from said invoice database into said computer memory; parsing, by said control program, a plurality of second invoice line items from said first invoice into second invoice data, wherein said computer program is executed at least partially by said hardware server; analyzing, by said control program , said first invoice data, said vendor rule data and said payment selection rule data to determine a second settlement rule; selecting, by said control program and based upon said second settlement rule, a second settlement option from said plurality of settlement options to settle said second invoice, wherein said second settlement option is different from said first settlement option; and, applying, by said control program, said second settlement option to said second invoice to facilitate settling said second invoice.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first settlement rule and said second settlement rule are the same settlement rule for facilitating settling at least one of said first invoice or said second invoice.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said analyzing said first invoice data further comprises analyzing data parsed from a first line item of said first invoice and a second line item of said first invoice.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said second settlement rule is based upon analyzing said first invoice data and said second invoice data.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving information related to at least one of said first settlement rule or said second settlement rule via a graphical user interface.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of said first settlement rule or said second settlement rule are based upon further analyzing at least one of accounts payable data, accounts receivable data, general ledger account data, or enterprise resource planning data to determine a cash position of said payer.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of said first settlement rule or said second settlement rule comprises at least one of a first strategic option or a second strategic option; wherein said first strategic option comprises maximizing financial performance with respect to payment of at least one of said first invoice or said second invoice by comparing a financial benefit of delaying payment of an invoice with a financial benefit of not delaying payment of said invoice; and, wherein said second strategic option comprises delaying as long as possible cash outlays with respect to settlement of invoices.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving vendor data from a plurality of vendors and associating said vendor data with at least one of said first settlement rule or said second settlement rule.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising associating said first vendor with at least one of said first settlement rule or said second settlement rule.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said selecting said first settlement option is based at least in part on an invoice attribute of at least one of said first invoice or said second invoice.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said analyzing said first invoice data is further based upon at least one of a due date, invoice date, shipped date, received date, discount term, a discount available for early payment, total value, settlement restriction, late fee, settlement options, cost of funds, financial return hurdle rate, short term cash earnings rate, short term cash hurdle rate, payment timing, terms of payment cycle, payment terms, issuer arrangements, rebate structure, per-transaction costs, required lead time, classes of payables, taxes, utility charges, accounts owed to overseas entities, vendor, SIC code type, strategic relationship with a paying company, or payables settled to date.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a first subrule related to payment timing and selecting said first settlement option based upon said first settlement rule and said first sub-rule.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein said selecting said first settlement option is based at least in part on a vendor attribute of said first vendor.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein said selecting said first settlement option is based at least in part on a vendor attribute of said first vendor, wherein said vendor attribute is a list of settlement options approved for said first vendor.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a list of settlement options for said first settlement rule.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of settlement options comprises at least one of payment by electronic payment, payment by check, payment by payment card, payment by wire transfer, payment by automatic clearing house (ACH), payment by electronic data interchange (EDI) or payment by private network.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first settlement option comprises settling at least a portion of said first invoice by at least one of payment by electronic payment, payment by check, payment by payment card, payment by wire transfer, payment by automatic clearing house (ACH), payment by electronic data interchange (EDI) or payment by private network.

18. An apparatus for paying invoices, comprising: a processor; and a memory in operative communication with said processor, said memory for storing a plurality of processing instructions enabling said processor to: access a first invoice stored on an invoice database, wherein said first invoice is associated with a first vendor; load said first invoice from said invoice database into said memory; parse a plurality of first invoice line items from said first invoice into first invoice data; analyze said first invoice data, vendor rule data and payment selection rule data to determine a first settlement rule, wherein said payment selection rule data comprises payment rules to at least one of maximize cash flow for a payer, maximize short-term return on cash for a payer of said first invoice, maximize vendor discounts, or minimize transaction costs associated with paying said first invoice; select, based upon said first settlement rule, a first settlement option from a plurality of settlement options to settle said first invoice; apply said first settlement option to said first invoice to facilitate settling said first invoice; access a second invoice stored on said invoice database wherein said second invoice is associated with a second vendor; load said second invoice from said invoice database into said memory; parse a plurality of second invoice line items from said first invoice into second invoice data; analyze said first invoice data, said vendor rule data and said payment selection rule data to determine a second settlement rule; select, based upon said second settlement rule, a second settlement option from said plurality of settlement options to settle said second invoice, wherein said second settlement option is different from said first settlement option; and, apply said second settlement option to said second invoice to facilitate settling said second invoice.

19. A tangible computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, if executed by a computing device, cause said computing device to perform a method comprising: accessing a first invoice stored on an invoice database, wherein said first invoice is associated with a first vendor; loading said first invoice from said invoice database into a computer memory; parsing a plurality of first invoice line items from said first invoice into first invoice data; analyzing said first invoice data, vendor rule data and payment selection rule data to determine a first settlement rule, wherein said payment selection rule data comprises payment rules to at least one of maximize cash flow for a payer, maximize short-term return on cash for a payer of said first invoice, maximize vendor discounts, or minimize transaction costs associated with paying said first invoice; selecting, based upon said first settlement rule, a first settlement option from a plurality of settlement options to settle said first invoice; applying said first settlement option to said first invoice to facilitate settling said first invoice; accessing a second invoice stored on said invoice database wherein said second invoice is associated with a second vendor; loading said second invoice from said invoice database into said computer memory; parsing a plurality of second invoice line items from said first invoice into second invoice data; analyzing said first invoice data, said vendor rule data and said payment selection rule data to determine a second settlement rule; selecting, based upon said second settlement rule, a second settlement option from said plurality of settlement options to settle said second invoice, wherein said second settlement option is different from said first settlement option; and, applying said second settlement option to said second invoice to facilitate settling said second invoice.